Spartan Hoopla: Michigan State's Run of Overachievement Finally Comes to an End

Michigan State's improbable run to the Final Four in Indianapolis was cut short by Brad Stevens' Horizon League champion Butler Bulldogs 52-50.

Turnovers and a tenacious Bulldog defense hindered Tom Izzo's Spartans from reaching their third title game since 2000.

The Spartans exceeded expectations by downing Gary Williams' Maryland Terrapins, Ben Jacobson's Northern Iowa Panthers, and Bruce Pearl's Tennessee Volunteers. The trend of winning by the skin of their teeth finally caught up to Michigan State on April 3.

Amidst injuries, controversies, suspensions and the lack of leadership, somehow Izzo got his team within a game of a national title bout.

That's impressive considering the chips weren't in Sparty's favor in the least bit.

Star point-guard Kalin Lucas went down not once this season, but twice.

Lucas' ankle ended up being the Spartans' Achilles' heel, an injury he initially suffered against Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers earlier in the season.

After seeing limited action Feb. 9 against Purdue, Lucas helped the Spartans win a share of the Big Ten regular season title after a school record 9-0 start to conference play.

That was something that Mateen Cleaves or Magic Johnson weren't able to do.

Unfortunately, Lucas' ankle came back to haunt him, this time in the NCAA Tournament.

Against Maryland, the Detroit native's Achilles' tendon ruptured, and the Spartans were quickly written off the contender list.

Michigan State would then bond together and defy its critics.

Senior Raymar Morgan went out in winning fashion, a bright spot in the Canton, Ohio native's career. Morgan averaged nearly 17 points in his final 13 games and was a vital piece to Izzo's offense.

The 6'4" Detroit-born Durrell Summers showed the nation that, when hot, he's one of the best that the game of college basketball has to offer.

Summers poured in game-high point totals against Maryland with 26 and 21 against Tennessee. Summers will likely return for his senior campaign, and that comes as good news to Spartan basketball fans.

Delvon Roe epitomized what being a Spartan is all about. Roe's knees have given him fits since high school, and even with a torn meniscus this year he toughed it out and gave his all to his fellow teammates.

That's a Spartan.

Roe will have micro-fracture surgery to repair his knee issues, and will be a healthy junior in 2010-11.

Saginaw's Draymond Green, who was the Big Ten's Sixth-Man of the Year, displayed his improved game for the MSU faithful to see in 2009-10.

Green's defense and ball movement skills complimented Izzo's offense—he too will be a junior next season.

Spartan fans could ask themselves "What went wrong this year?"

It would just drive them into a blur.

Spartan fans should ask themselves "How, with everything against our team, did it get to the Final Four in the first place?"

There's an old saying "You reap what you sow."

The Spartans reaped the benefits of sowing the seeds of becoming better teammates—a closer-knit unit like Izzo's teams of before.

As seen on Barking Carnival's "Sparty On" blog.